John Kiriakou recounts finding the grave of Israel Boyd, one of two brothers whose parents, unable to afford to send them to college to become scientists, forced them into the family bakery business instead. Resenting the hard labor of kneading dough by hand, the brothers invented the first industrial dough mixer, then a machine to cut the dough so every loaf came out the same size, shape, and weight — equipment other bakers soon wanted to buy. One brother then had the idea to add milk to the dough mix, making it fluffier, something no one had done before. They built an army of delivery boys modeled on newspaper routes so customers could call in an order and have hot bread delivered by dinnertime. By the time of the First World War, their bakery — occupying an entire city block behind Union Station — was the largest in America, and the brothers were wealthy beyond their imagining.[1]
From “Mrs. McGill’s Delicious Bread” to Wonder Bread
When the brothers decided to retire, they sold the business — whose flagship product carried the unglamorous name “Mrs. McGill’s Delicious Bread” — to the National Baking Company. The buyer kept the entire operation intact, changing only one thing: the name of the bread, rebranding it Wonder Bread.[2]